Requirements for reporting missing passports tightened

Expatriates can no longer report lost or stolen passports to their local police department but will instead be required to file a report with the Passport Department.
The Passports Department will then issue a confirmation letter that expatriates can forward to their consulate or embassy for a replacement passport.
Expats are encouraged to employ an agent (muaaqeb) to file the report with the Passport Department.
Filing a report and obtaining a confirmation letter are the primary requirements demanded by consulates and embassies to replace passports.
“I have lost my passport and I was informed by Jeddah police to go to the Passport Department to file a missing passport report,” Mohamed Adem, a Sudanese resident in Jeddah, told Arab News. “However, the main problem is that procedures with the passport department take a long time and I have to depend on an agent working with my employer to complete this simple procedure.”
Jeddah police officials did not respond to requests for comment.
Expatriates who want a replacement must submit a missing passport report with the Passport Department, advertise its loss in a local newspaper, possess a copy of the lost passport or at least have a national personal identity and have a letter issued by the employer or sponsor.
Consulate and embassy officials have demanded tight control over issuing replacement passports because they say that many expats from poor countries are abusing the system by falsely reporting their passports as lost.
Some expats, for instance, may have a canceled visa from a Western country. If they attempt to get a new visa, the foreign consulate likely will deny the application. By claiming they have lost their passports, expats can receive new documents without the canceled visa, which makes it easier to obtain a new visa, according to consulate officials interviewed by Arab News.
Ali Mosa, a Sudanese resident in Jeddah, told Arab News that expats from poor countries often use this trick to increase their chances of being granted a new visa to western countries.
“I would travel abroad but my passport has been sealed as canceled,” Mosa said. “I have to get a new passport to hide the canceled seal on my current passport. If any Western consulate is made aware of a canceled seal on my current passport, it will cancel procedures for a new one.”